Rapzilla.com staff picked around 20 of the new up and comers on the scene and narrowed the list down to the 10 new kids on the block to look out for this year.

The Criteria: The main qualifier that Rapzilla staff utilized was that the artists could not have more than one official release. If an artist has had two official albums released, that would be referred to as their sophomore album. So an artist that has released several mixtapes and been a feature on other albums, yet only released 1 official album, is a freshman by definition, not talent. So lets jump into it...

John Givez

As an “Eastside Church Boi” hailing from the West Side of the country, John Givez has steadily risen to prominence in a growing field of Left Coast emcees. We first heard his artistry on theBreax “I’m On One” remix from the BreaxOver mixtape series. His feature was smooth enough to attract twitter attention from veteran rapper Sho Baraka, which was only a sign of things to come. Givez released well-received mix tapes “The Little Engine That Could” and “Mind Over Matter” before officially signing with theBreax's Kings Dream Entertainment label. 2013 was a landmark year for the singer/rapper. His debut album IV Seasons, which featured theBreax and his cousin JGivens (SN: What are their family reunion cyphers like? Sheesh), was released with the strong support of fans and key genre tastemakers. His inclusion on the current Southern Lights Tour with Alex Faith and Dre Murray, his Rapzilla nomination for Best New Artist and his overall growth ensure that great things are in store for the Cali native. He is clearly one to watch for 2014.